I apologize to my schnitzel readers for the delay in posting, the last few weeks have been a whirlwind of traveling and entertaining my parents. The list of towns we visited and sights we saw could fill a whole page- Weiden, Regensburg, Nuremberg, Bamberg, Munich, Dachau, Ingolstadt, Wurzburg, Rothenburg, Fussen, Austria for a hot minute.... even IKEA. I will let my mother fill in the details as I've been told she can recite everything about the trip. Here are some highlights from our 3 day stop in Munich, but again I have to apologize, I got carried away with what Mum was taking pictures of and forgot to take many of my own....
Of course, no trip to Munich would be complete without a beer at the Hofbrauhaus in Munich. This famous beer hall is as historic as any monument or museum, and is much more fun to visit! Hitler started the National Socialist German Work's Party here in 1920, and was a meeting spot for the Nazi Youth. Rumor has it that the ceiling had a gigantic swastika on it, but has now been painted over with scenes of jolly Bavarians swigging steins of Hofbrau beer.
Daddy especially liked this tourist stop for the drink, but their lack of brautwurst sandwiches was a major disappointment to him.
We also walked through the Englischer Gartens our first day in Munich, and stopped at the Chinesischer Turm for a beer and pretzel. Despite being overcast, the park was beautiful and a lot nicer than the last time we were there in the snow. Poor Mummy doesn't like beer but still had to suffer through our frequent beer stops!
This is the one building that Mummy is not sure exactly what it is, so make sure you ask her about it! The tour we eves-dropped on said it was heavily bombed during WWII and when it was rebuilt, the wings on either side were made of glass "so that the people could see government happening". You can't see the sides of the building in this photo, but I took this picture because I love the 3 gold paintings in the arch ways. The Bavarian Lion in the middle is my favorite.
A short walk from there is the Residenceplatz, including the Temple Diana, pictured above. Musicians petition and audition to play under the domed roof (great acoustics), and it is considered a huge honor to be allowed to play here.
The Residence itself was impressive, although it was almost completely destroyed in the 40's and the furniture and apartments are reproductions based on what the trustees assume to be accurate (the residence in Wurzburg is a better representation- everything that was moveable was removed and hidden in bomb shelters and farms to protect it from bombing, then replaced afterwards with the help of meticulous photographs). The Treasury, also located in the Residence, was fascinating. There were so many exquisite pieces of jewelry, crowns, swords, nicknacks, alters, etc. It was interesting that some of the pieces had colored glass in place of gemstones- some of the families had sold the original stones and replaced with faux pieces!
Also in the Englisher Garden there is a man-made surfing wave. How it works I have no idea, but it was really funny to see people walking around in wetsuits with surf boards in the middle of a city.
Munich was a great time, and we only went the wrong way on the subway once (!). We also took a day trip to Dachau, visited the toy museum, the Marienplatz, fulfilled Mum's desire to visit a German department store, and ate gelato every day. The question on everyone's mind- did Daddy get to go to BMW world? Yes- we went immediately after I picked them up at the airport and took a tour of the factory. Unfortunately that was why my father visited Germany, and the rest of the sightseeing was no match...
No comments:
Post a Comment